A North Carolina man who has been arrested nine times was released back onto the streets after allegedly attacking a woman at gunpoint. According to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office, 23-year-old Trivius Crouch was already in custody when his bond was doubled due to charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, assault by pointing a gun, and injury to personal property on October 30.
In July, Crocach approached the family of a woman he shares a child with while she was inside a vehicle in Charlotte. The woman’s mother reportedly intervened to protect her daughter, prompting Crouch to allegedly attack the victim.
Police said that during the struggle, Crouch’s gun fell from his waistband. He allegedly picked it up and fired two shots into the air and one into the ground near the victim.
Crouch then returned to his vehicle to retrieve a baseball bat, which he allegedly used to break into the family’s Mercedes SUV before striking the victim in the head, arm, and legs.
"[The victim] advised she just kept moving around, but before anything else happened Crouch took off running behind the house," police said.
According to Fox News, court records indicate this was Crouch’s ninth arrest in Mecklenburg County. The day before his bond was increased over the assault charges, he was arrested on alleged felony possession of marijuana with intent to sell, possession of marijuana paraphernalia, and possession of a concealed weapon.
Crouch was released on the higher $20,000 bond despite the pending assault charges. He had previously been arrested for the same July incident and released on a $10,000 bond. His prior arrests include trafficking opium or heroin and possession with intent to sell or distribute marijuana, among other alleged offenses, according to police.
The suspect’s acts of violence come as North Carolina recently passed Iryna’s Law, which went into effect on December 1. The law is named after Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed to death by a serial criminal on a Charlotte light rail. It eliminates cashless bail for certain offenses and makes a new category of “violent offenses” in which a judge must impose specific conditions for the arrestee to be released before trial.